Secretary to the Government of Oyo State (SSG), Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun said on Friday that the society must continue to invest in the future of the girl child so as not to miss out on the great values girls can offer to humanity.
Mrs. Adeosun, who stated this while speaking on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child, on October 11, which was organised by Oyo State office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) said that the decision of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration to make education one of the pillars of the government was carefully taken because education is a sure way to make the difference in the lives of people.
The first of its kind celebration in Oyo State, hosted by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on SDGs, Mr. Kunle Yusuf, MON, was attended by other key functionaries of government.
While speaking inside the SSG Conference Room, Secretariat, Ibadan, Mrs. Adeosun revealed that her father had three daughters and no son, noting that they had all become successful, with her becoming a pharmacist and now the first female SSG in Oyo State; her immediate younger sister a trained engineer and the third sibling a professor of Medicine.
She advised parents to invest on educating the girl children, so that they would become good leaders of tomorrow
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At the event attended by a cross-section of female pupils drawn from primary schools across Ibadan, the state capital, the Director-General, Due Process Office, Ms. Tara Adefowope; a commissioner in the Local Government Service Commissioner, Mr Oyeshina Oyedeji and the Director of Schools, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Chief Jacob Dairo, also encouraged the female children to focus on their studies and believe in themselves.
Adeosun said: “When we say that education is one of the pillars of this administration; it is very clear, because education sure makes the complete difference in the lives of people even the generation to come. And we knew that if we want to make our difference in the history of Oyo State, then education is key.
“You also know that when we talk about the number of girl-children, it is almost equal if not more than that of the boys, so if you do not invest in the girl-children you are missing out on so much value on the children.
“But we should not just let the celebration of the girl-child end with the International Day celebration; let us continue to invest in the girl-child so that these children we are seeing here today will become leaders of tomorrow and not just leaders, but good leaders because we have invested in them all.”
Earlier, SSA to the Governor on SDG, Yusuff, commended the Makinde administration for its commitment to education through several interventions such as free education policy, distribution of textbooks and notebooks and creating greater access to education through the policy on out-of-school children, pointing out the importance of the girl-child and their education and well-being in the society.
He stated that the SDG Office was ready to work with the governor to ensure access to qualitative education to the girl-child, noting that the celebration of the Day of the Girls was to encourage the female pupils on the importance of education, even as he appreciated the SSG for his continued support to the SDG Office.
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